


Bath in the Middle of the Night

by Hibari1_san



Series: SASO 2017 : Bonus Round 3 [1]
Category: Free!
Genre: Light Angst, M/M, Retrospective, mention of masturbation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-11-29 14:28:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11442798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hibari1_san/pseuds/Hibari1_san
Summary: "enchanted - speak nowred - reduntouchable - fearless (platinum version)state of grace (acoustic) - redthis love (piano and string version) - 1989it's near impossible to find audio of any studio version of a 1989 song on youtube but tbh the piano/string version of "this love" sounds like something out of the free! ost so linking that one is like it's own bonus"





	Bath in the Middle of the Night

**Author's Note:**

> "For kazuyas  
> Major Tags: Mention of slight sexual content  
> Other Tags: Angst ?  
> Word Count: 1075 words
> 
> I struggled so much to write this and I don't think it's even that good but still kinda okay. (I never seem to know when to stop with the descriptions lol) I hope you'll still like it."

Though Haru had gone to sleep a few hours ago, he still laid wide awake on his bed. He glanced at his alarm clock on the bedside table.  
  
2 : 31 am.  
  
Resigned, he sighed, got up to put his favourite speedos on and then headed to the bathroom. He didn’t think he’d be able to sleep this night anyway.   
  
After all, Rin had come back.  
  
He put his hand on his chest, trying to will his heart to slow down but it felt as if fire was coursing through his veins. He didn’t know why it seemed like a surprise to him. Rin had always stirred up all kind of emotions in him.  
  
Haru had never thought that his life was particularly exciting. He lived in a small town, in some forgotten place in Japan, he had decent company in the presence of his long time friend Makoto who was a bit chatty and whiny but very kind and accommodating, school was a bit boring, and even at home, his grandmother would move and talk very ponderously. Always the same pattern, the same questions, the same bad jokes, the same anecdotes and even the same greetings.  
  
Rinse, and repeat.   
  
And so, Haru’s life had felt like a slow-paced silent black and white movie on a loop. Even he, at some point, had seemed like this dull and emotionless being.  
  
Rin was like his exact opposite. He was always bursting with energy, passionate and optimistic. When he had taken an interest in him, he had also pulled him into his world and Haru had just marveled at all of these colors, and Rin in the middle.  
  
The worst part hadn’t been his move, even if the revelation that he was basically leaving him behind had still taken its toll on him. It was the rejection of his open hand, his tears, his strangled voice and his vacant look that had been like a knife in his heart.   
  
He had quit swimming competitively. It’s not like he minded, and he could’ve still swam free whenever he had felt like it. He had only signed up for the relay to grant Rin’s wish and to get a glimpse at the view he was talking about. Frankly, if he wasn’t there, Haru didn’t see the point anymore. And so, Haru’s life had went back to insipidness. Only that now that he had experienced such a level of brightness, he couldn’t settle for dull anymore. He would have probably suffocated already if not for swimming. Only in water did he find some peace of mind and so, Haru would always be eager to take a dip and had earned the title of “Water-freak” that he wore proudly. It’s not like he cared, anyway. The second thing, that no one else knew about, was that he had had trouble falling asleep. When he let his guard down, their last interaction would mercilessly replay in his head. As such, to be able to relax enough to fall asleep, he had taken the habit of immersing his body in water and eventually, to sleep in his bathtub. Oddly enough, every time he did so, he would dream of Rin. The first time it had happened, it had been around a week since the incident, and Haru had started getting anxious as the pattern had been the same : they were both at the swimming pool, and he had still won, but this time, Rin was laughing. Eyes sparkling, he had looked at him, and declared “You’re really awesome, Nanase.”. From then on, the dreams always featured Rin in some shape or form, like this time where Rin had been nowhere to be found but everything had been colored in red, and he distinctly remembered this familiar feeling of peace like when he basked in his presence. He had realized that his feelings went way beyond simple friendship the time he had dreamt of them having a picnic below some cherry blossoms in spring, cuddling and kissing occasionally. That had been confirmed, some years later when he had slid his hand below his pajamas to touch himself, and had gotten to completion with Rin’s name on his lips.  
  
He honestly hadn’t thought that he would see him in person again. He had wished for it, but the most likely would have been that he would just get a look at him on the tv while he’d become the successful Olympic swimmer he had always dreamt of. His eyes had widened, and his heartbeat had sped up when they had made eye contact. His first first thought had stupidly been that he looked breathtakingly handsome, not immediately taking in how sad his expression had been and his heart had sank at the sight.  
  
Haru tightened his grip around his knees in his bathtub. It was clear that Rin was still hung up on what had happened all those years ago. Though he was in the same situation, the thought infuriated him. Rin was supposed to be a carefree, cheerful and bright idiot. This attitude was a bad look on him, and Haru could only blame himself. Still, he couldn’t help the happiness that overwhelmed him and made his heart jump in his chest.  
  
 _Rin was back._  
  
He wondered if that made him a bad person to rejoice at the thought of getting to interact with him, to  _swim_  with him once again when he was so obviously troubled. It had hurt to hear Rin’s voice so detached and venomous, to see him disregard their trophy, but all his stupid heart had cared about had been that he had called him “Haru”, and even now, just remembering it made it throb.  
  
He sighed and laid as much as he could on his bathtub. He really was at a loss. He didn’t like how pained Rin had looked but he didn’t know what he should do. He has always been bad at this, and his heart squeezed when he remembered that  _Rin_  was the one who was supposedly good at it. He closed his eyes. In any case, it wasn’t like he could do anything if the redhead didn’t tell him what was wrong, even if Haru had an inkling. He kept thinking about the matter for a few more moments without reaching a satisfying plan of action. But as sleep finally overtook him, one thing was clear for him.  
  
He wouldn’t let Rin run away this time.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading it ! I hope you enjoyed :3
> 
> This fic is crossposted on Dreamwidth.


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